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The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it explains the current records management practices for Canadian criminal records. Second, it details the larger social and cultural implications of those practices, toward considering the role records management plays in long‐term sustainable offender rehabilitation outcomes.

This paper is based on a thorough literature review, which considered research on the history of Canadian criminal record management; current records management procedures for Canadian criminal records; and current Canadian social and cultural understandings of offenders, criminal records, and the relationship between criminal record management and public policy.

This paper finds that Canadian records management procedures for criminal records can have grave impacts on offenders' lives. Specifically, this paper explores how records management practices are shaped by the social norms and values embedded in public policy mandates, which ultimately appear to disrupt, rather than support, offenders' rehabilitation.

This paper's research is limited by its current approach. Consequently, it encourages researchers to further develop its findings in the future, both domestic to Canada and internationally.

This paper includes implications that advocate for increased awareness about how public policy dictated records management procedures can limit offenders' ability to reintegrate into society.

This paper addresses the grave social consequences and burdens offenders face when they are unable to seal their previous criminal record.

This paper addresses the need to study how offenders' rehabilitation is affected by the policy dictating the management of their criminal record.

The process of statutory community aftercare for restricted hospital order service users is acknowledged as successful. Previous research examining the attitudes of forensic psychiatrists to the use of restriction orders has indicated that they view them as a useful clinical tool in some circumstances, particularly where there is evidence of previous breakdown of follow‐up. This study, as part of a larger project examining the effectiveness of statutory community aftercare, focused on the attitudes of social supervisors to the process of conditional discharge and their role within it. The findings showed that social supervisors agree that there are positive and negative aspects to the process. They overwhelmingly agreed that the legal framework ensured that service users continued engagement with psychiatric services, leading to enhanced compliance with treatment and follow‐up, but recognised that, at times, the role, because of its control aspect, created tension in the social worker‐service user relationship. Social supervisors suggested that investment should be made into providing appropriate accommodation for this group of people and, where appropriate, access to drug and alcohol misuse services.

The position of ex‐offenders as a group who are as equally in need of protection as those who are discriminated against on grounds of race or sex is highlighted. The provisions of the unfair dismissal legislation as they bear on ex‐offenders and the extent to which this legislation and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 are safeguarding the recruitment prospects and job security of those whose convictions have become “spent” is examined. It is concluded that the legislative provisions are ineffective and in need of amendment, possibly along the lines of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976. Such an Act should be complemented by a Code of Practice explaining employers′ obligations and urging them to include ex‐offenders in equal opportunities policies.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) conditionally discharged from secure hospitals on a restrictive Section of the Mental Health Act (Section 37/41).

Data were derived from seven semi-structured interviews from three forensic community teams.

Thematic analysis identified seven predominant themes: (1) the uncertainty of the discharge timeframe; (2) fear of jeopardising discharge; (3) progress; (4) engagement with community life; (5) barriers to social engagement; (6) evolving identity and (7) someone to turn to. Findings are discussed in relation to the recovery model and the good lives model.

The findings highlight the importance of fostering trust between MDOs and their care teams to encourage help-seeking. They also suggest that resources should be sequenced appropriately throughout the discharge process, to match the “window of engagement” and maximize impact and effectiveness.

This research gained rarely obtained first-hand perspectives from MDOs, with the findings contributing to a more effective evaluation of the discharge pathway.

A high proportion of forensic mental health service users (FSUs) are recalled to secure hospitals from conditional discharge in the community. The limited research on recall to date has preliminarily identified why FSUs are recalled, but not how they make sense of the process. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual understanding of how FSUs make sense of being recalled to hospital.

A constructivist grounded theory approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 11 FSUs from different levels of forensic service security who had been recalled varying numbers of times across a wide timeframe.

A theoretical model was constructed to illustrate the process of how FSUs make sense of being recalled. FSUs appraise being recalled on a continuum from negative to positive, based on their experiences when conditionally discharged and their reflections on the circumstances of being recalled. The nature of their appraisal appears to reciprocally influence their subsequent attitudes towards and their engagement with forensic services.

The proposed mechanism of how FSUs make sense of being recalled, particularly their dynamic appraisal of it, should now be investigated longitudinally. Future qualitative research could explore forensic service staff perspectives on recall.

Enhancing the positivity of FSUs’ appraisals about being recalled may improve their attitudes about and engagement with forensic services.

This is the first research study to construct a theoretical model of recall.

In the year 2001, the Risk Assessment Pilot Program was implemented in Argentina with the aims of establishing a systematic manner of assessing risk for violent recidivism in conditional release candidates and contributing to the design of intervention programs that help to reduce the criminal recidivism rate. The baseline assessment showed that conditional release candidates had a high-risk profile: 72.5% had severe or moderate substance abuse problems; 62% had failed in previous probation, conditional release or discharge from a mental institution; 85% had serious or moderate employment problems before incarceration. Individuals who were substance abusers were incorporated to the Drug Abuse Biochemical Control Program. Variations in dynamic factors were assessed with conditionally released subjects. Some encouraging results were obtained through December 2003 and their initial impact on judicial and penitentiary institutions is already seen.

Building the Right Support, a national plan for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in England aims to avoid lengthy stays in hospital for such people. Discharge planning is understood to be helpful in facilitating successful transition from hospital to community services, however, there is little guidance available to help those working with detained patients with ID and offending histories to consider how to affect safe and effective discharges. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this paper, the development and implementation of a multi-faceted and systemic approach to discharge preparation and planning is described. The impact of this intervention on a range of outcomes was assessed and the views of stakeholders on the process were sought.

Initial outcome data provide support for the effectiveness of this intervention in terms of increased rates of discharge, reduced lengths of stay and low readmission rates. Stakeholders viewed the intervention as positive and beneficial in achieving timely discharge and effective post-discharge support.

People with ID are more likely to be detained in hospital and spend more time in hospital following admission. A planned, coordinated and well managed approach to discharge planning can be helpful in facilitating timely and successful discharges with low risks of readmission.

This is the first attempt to describe and evaluate a discharge planning intervention for detained offenders with ID. The intervention described appears to be a promising approach but further evaluation across a range of service settings is required.

Forensic mental health services play an important role in providing treatment and accommodation for people diverted from prison or the courts who require secure and specialist mental health treatment. There are more than 3,500 people in medium and high‐secure hospitals who have been directed there by the courts or prison system, and nearly 1,000 new admissions are received each year. Yet, the facts and figures relating to these services are patchy and not widely published. This paper builds on an earlier statistical briefing produced by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health in 2007, and seeks to provide an up‐to‐date and improved understanding of this area of service provision by presenting the most recent data and figures.

The purpose of this paper is to describe key policy and practice issues regarding a significant subgroup of people with intellectual disability – those with offending behaviour being treated in forensic hospitals.

The reasons why psychiatrists continue to be involved in the treatment of people with intellectual disability and mental health or behavioural problems and the factors that may lead to patients needing hospital admission are examined. Using two illustrative examples, three key questions – containment vs treatment, hospital care vs conditional discharge and hospital treatment vs using deprivation of liberty safeguards usage in the community are explored.

Patients with intellectual disability, mental health problems and offending behaviours who are treated within forensic inpatient units tend to have long lengths of stay. The key variable that mediates this length of stay is the risk that they pose to themselves or others. Clinicians work within the framework of mental health law and have to be mindful that pragmatic solutions to hasten discharge into the community may not fall within the law.

This paper makes practical suggestions for the future on how to best integrate hospital and community care for people with intellectual disability, mental health and offending behaviours.